When China managed dock two unmanned spacecraft orbiting earth for the first time, it took a great leap forward in its new race into space, reports David Eimer in Beijing.

The Long March rocket carrying the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch CentrePhoto: REUTERS

By David Eimer in Beijing

5:44PM GMT 05 Nov 2011

Floating 200 miles above earth is the latest symbol of China's determination to become a true global superpower.

When the Tiangong 1 module docked successfully with the Shenzhou 8 spacecraft in the early hours of Thursday morning, China took a giant step towards its dream of becoming the pre-eminent power in space, a position some experts believe it may claim by 2040.

For the millions of Chinese who stayed up to watch the rendezvous of the two unmanned craft live on television, its success wasn't just a matter of enormous pride that China had become only the third nation after the US and Russia to master orbital docking. It was also a message to the rest of the world of China's ever-growing reach and ambition, as each successive mission in the country's space programme narrows the technological gap with its rivals.

At a time when the US is mired in an economic downturn and both public and financial support for the space agency Nasa is at its lowest ebb ever, China is forging ahead with plans to have its own space station by the end of the decade.

And with the Russians also stating that manned space missions are no longer a priority, it is likely that - within 15 years or so - the next men to set foot on the moon will be Chinese.

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Nor is China looking merely at near space. Later this month, it will launch its first Mars probe, carried into space as part of the payload on a Russian rocket.

Just eight years since China put its first astronauts into space, and only three years after its astronauts took their first space walk, the latest accomplishment reveals with startling clarity the speed at which China is mastering the steps needed to become a superpower in space.

"It's a huge technical leap forward," said Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space programme. Over the next 10 years, China plans to launch around 20 spacecraft to build its own space station. "We will do more two more rendezvous and docking flights next year. After that, we will begin the construction of a space laboratory and space station."

The space lab is expected to be operational by 2016 and the space station by 2020, the very year that the International Space Station (ISS) is set to be decommissioned.

"The Chinese have momentum in their programme; they're closing the gap while the US is treading water," said Professor Michael Sheehan, an expert in space politics at Swansea University. "Ten years ago, China didn't have any reconnaissance satellites and it was 25 years behind the US. Now they have ones that are as good as the American satellites. It's been an incredible build-up in the last decade. If things continue as they are, China will be the number one power in space by 2040."

China did not even launch its first satellite until 1970, one year after Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon. Now, it rivals Russia in launching commercial satellites, sending 20 into orbit last year alone. Jiuquan, China's space city, in northwestern Gansu Province is the Chinese equivalent of Mission Control in Houston and the Cape Canaveral shuttle launch-pad rolled int one.

The launches themselves take place nearby on the edge of the Gobi Desert, part of a huge enterprise whose details - unlike Nasa's operation - are kept strictly secret.

But it is the successful docking of the 33ft Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace" 1, with the 30ft Shenzhou 8 that is set to prompt a massive acceleration in the country's space programme. It means China now has the ability to ferry its taikonauts, the Chinese name for their astronauts, and supplies back and forth from earth to a space station of its own.

At around 60 tons, China's space station will be far smaller than the 400 ton ISS and more like the cramped and basic former Russian Space Station Mir. Yet, having their own semi-permanent outpost in space at a time when no one else does will be sweet revenge for the Chinese, whose participation in the 16-country ISS was vetoed by Washington, as well as offering them the opportunity to further their space science.

"We cannot wait any longer to make our own scientific experiments in space. We have to build our own space station to satisfy the demands of China's development," said Jiao Weixin, a Professor at Peking University's School of Earth and Space Sciences.

Some worry that science is not the only motivation behind China's space programme. "Chinese space efforts are largely managed by the People's Liberation Army and directed by the Central Military Commission," said Scott Pace, the director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University and a former senior Nasa official and White House adviser on space.

"Military space activities can be conducted for peaceful purposes, just as the US does, but there should be no mistaking the fact that China's space activities have military purposes."

Shenzhou 8's launch last week has already set alarms bells ringing, because the craft was delivered so precisely to its intended location. If China can send a rocket into space with such accuracy, it means it can destroy any object in near space as well.

China's new strides in its rocket guidance systems comes despite an embargo on US exports of sensitive hi-tech equipment to Beijing. Having relied on re-engineered Russian technology for much of its space programme, the docking system that brought Tiangong 1 and Shenzou 8 together was Chinese-designed.

China is also preparing to launch the latest generation of its Long March rockets, which will be able to carry far heavier payloads into space.

Professor Jiao says that Western suspicions of China's ambitions in space are unfounded. "It is costly and silly to use the space programme for military purposes. Why would we make such a big show and spend so much money if it was only for military use? Our goal is very simple; we want to make scientific discoveries in space. I am sure all mankind will benefit from Chinese achievements in space," he said.

What is clear that China seems able to meet its goals in space far more cheaply than Nasa. Exact figures are hard to come by, but it is estimated Beijing spends around £1.5 billion a year on its space programme, a fraction of Nasa's annual budget of £20 billion.

"I would suspect they are spending more than they admit. That's certainly true with their defence spending. But they are definitely getting value for money," said Professor Sheehan. "The Russians always spent less on their space programme than Nasa and they did OK, even though it wasn't as technologically advanced as Nasa's."

For now, Nasa remains the world leader in space technology. But there seems to be little appetite amongst both the US's leaders and the American public for the bold missions which characterised Nasa's operations in its glory days of the 1960's and 70's.

"The question is whether the United States will proceed with its own long-term programme of space exploration and development, or drift," said Mr Pace.

That lack of enthusiasm is perhaps the reason why China's growing presence above the earth has so far not sparked a space race reminiscent of the battle between the US and the former Soviet Union for supremacy. "I believe the United States is largely indifferent at this point," said Mr Pace.

More likely is the prospect of a regional space race in Asia. India is pushing ahead with plans for its first manned mission in 2016, while Japan has stepped up its programme of probes to asteroids and the moon.

Some believe the US and China should start collaborating instead. On the same day that Tiangong 1 docked with Shenzhou 8, Nasa's chief Charlie Bolden raised the prospect of future cooperation with China when he appeared before a House of Representatives committee in Washington.

Yet, China's lack of transparency over its intentions in space and the US's reluctance to give Beijing access to its technology remain barriers to any meaningful partnership.

More than anything, China's successes in space are helping to bolster the ruling communist party by boosting national pride and unity at a time when a slowing Chinese economy and a rising tide of protests are threatening stability.

Some 12 million people recorded their hopes and dreams for the future and just under 43,000 of them were selected to be stored on a computer chip and carried into space as part of the mission.

"It's a way to demonstrate what the communist party has achieved in the last 60 years," said Professor Sheehan. "It's big statement to the Chinese people that China is a great nation again and that after all the technological advances it made thousands of years ago, it is once more a technologically advanced country."

Ultimately, that may be more important to Beijing than assuming the US's mantle in space.